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Boulder County's agenda for the Colorado Legislature: a partial list

Posted:
12/15/2012 06:39:08 PM MST

Updated:
12/15/2012 09:23:09 PM MST

Local flexibility in transportation spending: Boulder County wants the state to give counties, cities and towns the authority to spend some of their allocations of state Highway Users Tax Fund revenues on local transit-related projects, such as providing "final mile" bus service between the Regional Transportation District's FasTracks stations and the neighborhoods and communities not within walking distance of those RTD facilities.

Multi-modal transportation systems: Boulder County would support state legislation requiring that transportation planning and funding have "a strong multi-modal focus" -- one that provides "a regional transportation system that reduces reliance on fossil fuels" rather than mainly accommodating single-occupancy motor-vehicles' traffic needs. That, commissioners said, could allow development of safe bikeways and walkways, special lanes for high-occupancy vehicles and buses and transit services that give Coloradans choices of how to travel.

Mandatory reports of elder abuse: Boulder County would support a proposed state law that would require medical professionals, social workers, seniors' caretakers and others to report when they suspect at-risk elderly Coloradans have been physically abused or neglected or financially exploited. County officials have said, though, that local investigations of such reports shouldn't be an unfunded mandate and that the state should allocate enough money to support aging services programs provided by adult protection and law enforcement agencies.

Immigration "tuition equity": Boulder County would support allowing undocumented immigrants who have attended at least three years of high school in Colorado to be given the chance to pay in-state college tuition rates. That, commissioners said in their legislative agenda, would "expand educational and economic opportunity to residents across the state, increase enrollment in the state's institutions of higher education and develop immigrant youth into strong contributors to our communities and futures."

Repeal a suspected-illegal-immigrant reporting requirement: Boulder County would support repealing a 2006 state law requiring local law enforcement agencies to report when people they've detained are suspected of being illegal immigrants. The commissioners' legislative agenda says that law duplicates processes spelled out in a 2011 Colorado agreement with the federal government for verifying detainees' immigration status and for removing repeat and violent offenders from the country. Boulder County says the old law is now redundant, that it "necessitates an unnecessary layer of paperwork, reporting and tracking for law enforcement," and that it's costing agencies across the state an estimated $13 million a year to comply with.

Fund foreclosure prevention counseling: Boulder County is calling for state funding of foreclosure prevention counseling provided through agencies certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in order to help individuals, families and financial institutions explore alternatives to foreclosure for homeowners under financial duress.

Insurance coverage for homes in potential wildfire areas: Boulder County would support homeowner-insurance reforms addressing the needs of such wildland-urban interface areas as the Fourmile Canyon area struck by a 2010 wildfire. The state would require that insurance companies offer adequate coverage for homeowners based on local building costs, "with full transparency for homeowners regarding coverage for debris removal and replacement and rebuilding costs." The reforms could include establishing premium differentials for homeowners who develop and maintain defensible spaces around their houses in the event of a fire and whose homes have ignition-resistant building materials.

Sales tax-supported local improvement districts: Boulder County would support changing state law to give sales-tax-supported local improvement districts, such as one in Niwot, the authority to add properties to their districts, including properties that aren't adjacent to the current district. Commissioners said current law also should be clarified to allow such improvement districts to spend some of their sales tax revenues on organizing, promoting, marketing and managing events that benefit the district, as well as on such public improvements as streets, curbs, street lights and drainage.

Eliminate bank transaction fees on TANF cards: Bouder County would support eliminating the bank-transaction fees charged on cards that Temporary Aid to Needy Families recipients must use to access their cash benefits. The banks' fees, county officials said, reduce the amount of funds that low-income TANF clients can spend on such basic household and family necessities as diapers, clothes and transportation.

Same-sex civil unions: Boulder County would support a law recognizing same-sex civil unions, "with all the rights, benefits and responsibilities conferred by civil marriage." While the Colorado Constitution precludes same-sex marriages, the county's legislative agenda said it supports civil unions "as an interim step" toward giving same-sex couples full equality in the rights, responsibilities and benefits the law gives to heterosexual married couples.

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